CAR

Car Rental Servicesen.zuche.com

CAR Inc. (神州租车) is China's largest car rental platform, serving individual consumers, travelers, and enterprises with short-term vehicle rentals (4 hours to 7 days) via its mobile app. It also operates autonomous vehicle rentals with Baidu Apollo, an NEV fleet with BYD, and a used-car export business targeting Nigeria.

Company typePrivate
Founded2007
HeadquartersBeijing, China
Headcount5,001–10,000
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What CAR does

CAR Inc. (神州租车) is China's largest car rental platform, operating a nationwide fleet of short-term rental vehicles accessible through its mobile app, with flexible booking options ranging from four hours to seven days. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Beijing, the company employs more than 10,000 people and serves individual consumers, travelers, and enterprise clients with traditional vehicle rentals.

The company's product portfolio spans four lines. First, its core traditional car rental service offers short-term vehicle access on a pay-as-you-go basis. Second, through a long-term partnership with Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving unit, CAR Inc. launched the world's first publicly available autonomous car rental service in July 2025, enabling users to book, unlock, and return self-driving vehicles without human assistance via the mobile app. Third, the company is scaling a new energy vehicle (NEV) rental fleet in partnership with BYD, which supplied nearly 30,000 vehicles in 2025 and signed a framework deal for 100,000 NEVs in May 2026 alongside a nationwide rollout of BYD's FLASH Charging infrastructure targeting 20,000 stations by end-2026. Fourth, CAR Inc. has begun operating a used-car export service, with the CEO appointed in February 2026 as designated representative by the Nigerian Embassy in China to promote Chinese used vehicles in Nigeria.

Revenue is generated primarily through short-term rental fees on a unit-pricing basis, with pricing aligned to standard consumer rental rates. The company pursues a dual go-to-market approach: a direct-to-consumer mobile app channel for individual renters, complemented by enterprise-level strategic cooperation agreements with automotive OEMs (notably BYD) for fleet procurement, fleet optimization tools, and test-drive initiatives. Capital has been raised across multiple funding rounds, including a 2020 sequence totaling over $550 million from MBK Partners, BAIC Group, and Warburg Pincus, supporting fleet expansion and the AV/NEV transition.

CAR firmographics

Firmographics

Name: CAR
Legal name: CAR Inc.
Website: https://en.zuche.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2007
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 5,001–10,000 employees
Short description: CAR Inc. (神州租车) is China's largest car rental platform, serving individual consumers, travelers, and enterprises with short-term vehicle rentals (4 hours to 7 days) via its mobile app. It also operates autonomous vehicle rentals with Baidu Apollo, an NEV fleet with BYD, and a used-car export business targeting Nigeria.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

CAR industry classification

Industry

Product category: Car Rental Services
NAICS: Passenger Car Rental (532111), Passenger Car Rental and Leasing (53211), Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing (5321)
SIC: Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)
akta.pro primary industry: Self-Drive Car Rental (THADAAAF)
akta.pro secondary industries: Long-Term Corporate Rentals (Monthly/Project-Based) (THADAOAH), Car Rental & Car-Sharing Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAF), Short-Term EV Car Rental (Airport & Off-Airport) (THADANAA)

Keywords

Car rental services
Vehicle rental platform
Autonomous car rental
New energy vehicles
Used car export

Where CAR is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Beijing
HQ country: China
HQ region: Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

CAR business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Short-term Vehicle Rentals: CAR Inc. generates revenue through short-term car rental services offered to the general public. Pricing is aligned with existing short-term rental rates with flexible booking options ranging from four hours to seven days. The company also offers traditional rental fleet alongside autonomous vehicle rental services.
Used Vehicle Export Services: CAR Inc. provides used-car export services, acting as a designated representative to promote Chinese used cars in international markets like Nigeria. The strategy involves shifting from scale-based to quality-based export with mature testing standards and after-sales services.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Autonomous Vehicle Rental

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

CAR product offering

Product offering

Core offering

CAR Inc. operates China's largest car rental platform, providing short-term vehicle rental services to individual consumers and travelers through its mobile app with flexible booking options ranging from four hours to seven days. The company also offers the world's first publicly available autonomous car rental service in partnership with Baidu Apollo, a new energy vehicle (NEV) rental fleet via BYD, and used-car export services for international markets.

Product overview

CAR Inc. (神州租车) is China's largest car rental platform offering a comprehensive mobility service portfolio. The company operates a dual offering model combining traditional short-term vehicle rentals with innovative autonomous vehicle rental services. Core products include the traditional car rental service with flexible 4-hour to 7-day booking options, and the autonomous car rental service launched in partnership with Baidu's Apollo Go, enabling users to book, unlock, and return self-driving vehicles entirely through the mobile app. The company also operates a NEV rental fleet featuring BYD models with nationwide charging infrastructure, and international used-car export services for markets including Nigeria. The mobile app serves as the unified access point for all rental services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Autonomous Car Rental Service
Traditional Car Rental
NEV Rental Fleet
Used-Car Export Services

Quantifiable outcome

Strong operational efficiency and positive customer feedback from initial pilot of 3,000 BYD Qin PLUS DM-i vehicles
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use CAR

Customer profile

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

CAR technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

CAR partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

BYDflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2026BYD and CAR Inc. signed strategic cooperation agreement establishing framework procurement deal for 100,000 NEVs alongside nationwide rollout of BYD's FLASH Charging infrastructure at CAR Inc. rental locations. Partnership builds on CAR Inc.'s 2025 purchase of nearly 30,000 BYD vehicles and initial pilot phase with 3,000 BYD Qin PLUS DM-i vehicles. BYD plans to install FLASH Charging facilities at eligible CAR Inc. locations and aims to build 20,000 FLASH Charging stations across China by end of 2026.
Nigerian Embassy in ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Nigerian embassy in China appointed CAR Inc CEO Gao Dewu as designated representative to promote Chinese used cars in Nigeria. Partnership aims to expand China's used-car exports to Nigeria and develop comprehensive service system. CAR Inc identified Nigeria as key future market with high demand for cost-effective, reliable vehicles.
Baidu ApolloflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2025Long-term partnership to roll out fully autonomous vehicle rental services. CAR Inc and Baidu Apollo launched world's first autonomous car rental service available to general public in China, enabling users to book, unlock, and return self-driving vehicles entirely without human assistance through CAR Inc mobile app. First fleet of custom-designed Apollo vehicles accommodates up to three passengers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

CAR competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Others

BYD: Strategic OEM partner and supplier of CAR Inc.'s 100,000-NEV fleet and FLASH Charging; comparable as a major NEV ecosystem player shaping the supply side of CAR Inc.'s rental business.
BAIC Group: Major Chinese automaker and existing CAR Inc. investor; comparable as a strategic partner in fleet supply and NEV adoption within China's rental and mobility ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

Trip.com Group: Owns/eHi Car Services and operates global car rental booking; relevant given overlapping China car rental footprint and OTA-driven distribution channel comparable to CAR Inc.'s mobile app.
Hertz Global Holdings: Major global car rental player actively transitioning its fleet to EVs, making it a relevant parallel for CAR Inc.'s NEV pivot and large-fleet transformation.
Sixt SE: Global mobility and car rental incumbent; provides short- and long-term rentals and fleet management with increasing focus on premium and EV fleets, comparable in scale ambition though based in Europe.
Avis Budget Group: Global incumbent in car rental and fleet leasing with a digital-first booking platform; comparable in business model and fleet-management approach to CAR Inc.'s traditional rental business.
Didi Chuxing: China's dominant ride-hailing platform with an integrated mobility app; competes for the same urban transportation wallet share as CAR Inc. and is also pursuing autonomous driving.

Emerging players

Pony.ai: Chinese autonomous driving company with robotaxi operations; comparable to CAR Inc.'s AV rental initiative in deploying self-driving vehicles for consumer mobility use cases.

Direct peers

eHi Car Services: Direct Chinese car rental competitor; operates short-term and long-term vehicle rental services nationwide with an integrated mobile app, closely matching CAR Inc.'s core offering.

Regional players

T3 Mobility: Chinese ride-hailing and mobility platform backed by major OEMs; overlaps with CAR Inc. on fleet operations and NEV adoption in China's mobility market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

CAR financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

CAR leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

CAR funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

CAR M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A1 record

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CAR

What does CAR do?

Is CAR a public or private company?

CAR is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.

When was CAR founded?

CAR was founded in 2007. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.

Where is CAR based?

CAR is headquartered in Beijing, China, in the Asia region.

How does CAR make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Short-term Vehicle Rentals are the primary driver. The others are used Vehicle Export Services.

Who are CAR's main competitors?

Others on record are BYD and BAIC Group. Broad incumbents are Trip.com Group, Hertz Global Holdings, Sixt SE, Avis Budget Group and Didi Chuxing. Pony.ai is listed as an emerging player. eHi Car Services is listed as a direct peer. T3 Mobility is listed as a regional player.

Does CAR have an API?

No public API is recorded for CAR.

What industry is CAR in?

CAR's product category is Car Rental Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THADAAAF, Self-Drive Car Rental, with a secondary code of THADAOAH, Long-Term Corporate Rentals (Monthly/Project-Based). Its NAICS code is 532111 and its SIC code is 7510.